Silver Meta, Strategic and Service Design · 2021
Case Luggage Travelling Separately
- A' Design Award 2021 Silver Winner in Meta, Strategic and Service Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Arnaud Gillard
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,018,430
- Verification code C42D2A23AF · Verify this award
About Case Luggage Travelling Separately
Case envisions the future of luggage and how luggage might evolve to become something that travels separately from its owner. Streamlining the travel experience, reducing stress, whilst also minimizing costly infrastructure. The Case is provided to you as part of an on-demand service whereby it will be delivered from your home to your destination ahead of the traveler, replacing the need to own and travel with luggage.
This remarkable example of contemporary service design thinking represents a significant contribution to the evolving dialogue between travel infrastructure and personal mobility solutions, emerging from a tradition of luggage innovation that spans from luxury trunk makers of the nineteenth century to the smart luggage revolution of the present era. The designer demonstrates exceptional sensitivity to the competing demands of durability, aesthetics, and functional innovation, creating an object that speaks simultaneously to industrial robustness and refined personal style through the judicious combination of brushed aluminum construction and supple leather detailing. The compositional intelligence evident in the design's proportions reveals careful consideration of ergonomic handling requirements alongside the practical constraints of contemporary travel logistics, with the distinctive top-mounted document slot suggesting a reconceptualization of how travelers interact with their belongings during transit processes. The material vocabulary establishes clear hierarchies of function and tactile engagement, with the protective aluminum shell providing security and structural integrity while the leather panel offers a zone of warmth and personal connection within the otherwise industrial aesthetic. The informational graphics applied to the surface introduce a layer of systematic communication that bridges the object's identity as personal possession and its role within larger transportation networks, the destination codes and weight specifications functioning as both practical necessity and visual evidence of the case's life as an independent traveling entity. The design appears to engage with questions of autonomy and separation anxiety in modern travel, proposing a relationship between owner and luggage that acknowledges periods of independent circulation while maintaining connection through technological integration. What might this object's dual nature as both personal accessory and autonomous traveler suggest about our evolving relationships with our possessions in an increasingly networked world?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Case envisions the future of luggage and how luggage might evolve to become something that travels separately from its owner. Streamlining the travel experience, reducing stress, whilst also minimizing costly infrastructure. The 'Case' is provided to you as part of an on-demand service whereby it will be delivered from your home to your destination ahead of the traveler, replacing the need to own and travel with luggage.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Unlike traditional luggage, the dimensions of Case is standardised and optimised for use across the logistics industry. Improving handling efficiency, reliability, and cutting costs. The Case itself measures at 380mm x 580mm x 270mm (58 Litres). Comfortably storing enough items for a 2-4 day trip. Users are able to order multiple Cases to their desired needs. An optimised design also allows for an earlier delivery time, ensuring that the traveller's belongings will always arrive before the traveller.
As the number of adopters increases, the cost of transporting the Case willdecrease drasticallyand beneutralizedby the saving of the transportation industry. It is expected thatat some point, given the economic forces at play, it will becheaperto have a user's Case travel separately that to travel with it. - Tags
- Logistics, Mobility, Luggage, Suitcase, Service Design, UX Design, Industrial Design, Infrastructure, Future travel, Luggage-free
- Production Technology
- The Case primarily constitutes a hydroformed aluminium unibody aimed at providing ample strength to weight ratio, whilst ensuring full recyclability at the end of life. It leverages technologies such as RFID, E-ink displays, electric locks and digital scales to provide the best travel experience. All without the need for an internal battery, thanks to its two-way wireless charging compatibility. In-depth research, combined with design thinking workshops helped established a detailed service blueprint, whilst many iterations of UX/UI wireframes established the app interface.
- Design Challenge
- A major challenge was establishing if the product should be owned by the user, or provided as part of the service. Each with their own challenges. It was decided that having the product provided as part of the service enabled a better user experience. Another difficulty was the very tight specifications set for the project. It needed to be lightweight, durable, technologically enabled, and optimised for the logistics industry. Meaning each design change consequently altered many other elements.
- Project Duration
- This project started in October 2019 in Loughborough and finished in June 2020 in Amsterdam.
- Operation Flow
- Once an empty Case is delivered to the user's home, the user places their phone on its lid and unlocks it using the case.travel app. The user then packs their belongings in the case locking it up by simply placing the lid back on. The app is then used to update the tech with travel details. Once the Case is in transit, the traveler may then choose to travel with whichever transport suits them best. Upon arrival, the traveler will find their case waiting for them in their room.
- Research
- The complexity of the project was distilled using a mix of core design research practices. Knowledge of the logistics and travel industry were gathered through attending Webinars, Conferences, interviewing industry specialists, referencing official literature, and conducting competitor analysis. Whilst user-driven insights were obtained through scenario mapping, role-playing, ergonomic testing, and user evaluations.
- Inspiration
- Travelling with luggage is a stressful and arduous experience for both the traveller themselves and the infrastructure built to accommodate it. When envisioning the future of mobility, very few imagine a future where we continue to drag our belongings along with us. Through in-depth research with key stakeholders in the mobility, logistics and luggage industry it was established that the most appropriate solution is a disruptive solution aimed at truly divesting luggage from the traveller.
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Strategic UX and Service Design
We transform complex challenges into elegant user experiences through strategic service design. Our multidisciplinary approach combines UX/UI expertise with innovative thinking to create future-forward solutions that reimagine how people interact with products and services.
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